The present invention relates generally to devices for serving merchandise, particularly to devices for serving flat merchandise, more particularly to devices for serving food, specifically to devices for serving food to customers at a fast food type drive-up serving area, and more specifically to devices for serving pizza to customers at a fast food type drive-up serving area.
With the increasing popularity of fast food type restaurants, drive-up serving areas allowing customers to order and receive their orders from their motor vehicles without entering the restaurant have been gaining popularity and use, especially among elderly, handicapped, or persons picking up orders for many. A need has arisen for devices for serving merchandise that minimizes the energy loss, is secure against break-in, is easily installed, easy to manufacture, and is of hygienic design.
Specifically, prior to the present invention, sliding glass windows were used at some drive-up serving areas for serving food at fast food restaurants. Large amounts of air circulation occurred between the interior and exterior of the building when the glass windows were opened, especially when the cooking and serving areas of fast-food type restaurants are subjected to negative ventilation, i.e., are subjected to lower air pressure than the remaining portions of the restaurant and the outside ambient atmosphere. This air circulation caused heat or air conditioning loss from the interior of the building resulting in waste of energy as well as increased expenses. Further, persons in the interior of the building servicing the drive-up windows were subjected to drastic temperature changes causing greatly increased possibility of illness and reduced efficiency. Sliding glass windows are also very prone to break-in. Furthermore, most sliding glass windows do not open sufficiently to allow a pizza to be handed out without tipping. Tipping the pizza causes the pizza topping to slide to one side and spoil its appearance thus decreasing its salability.
Also, prior serving devices are otherwise unsuitable for serving pizza. Specifically, existing drawers or other serving members of the serving devices for extending the merchandise to the customer are not large enough to accommodate a pizza flat, but it is necessary to curve the ends of the pizza inside the serving member. Making the serving member large enough to accommodate flat pizzas would result in a very bulky member which would be clumsy and take considerable energy to move, but more importantly, would make the serving device too large to fit within the drive-up serving area of most buildings because this area is located in the kitchen where space is at a premium. Further, employees would tend to place other items such as drinks on top of the pizza which would crush the pizza or may result in spilling the drinks or other items on the pizza when the items were being served to the customer.